Ever increasing expenses for energy sources have made energy conservation an issue of increased importance in recent years. However, many current energy sources and their delivery systems require that excess energy be produced to meet high demand conditions with the surplus energy often being wasted. Accordingly, it is believed that means for harnessing such excess energy and storing it for later use is highly desirable.
Although excess energy is most often produced in power plants, excess or unused energy is often wasted in common devices such as automobiles. Examples of such excess energy may be found in flywheel rotation, rotation of the wheels when the vehicle stops or decelerates, or in various components of the drive train. Harnessing and storing such excess or unused energy in conventional vehicles would be beneficial, but it is believed that harnessing and storing such energy in solar or electrical powered vehicles would be highly desirable as such vehicles have not achieved widespread use yet due to their limited efficiency which could be greatly enhanced with a means for storing and harnessing excess or unused energy in the vehicle.
Perhaps the most common means for storing energy is a chemical battery. However, it is believed that chemical batteries are not the most efficient means for storing energy in that they require expensive chemicals, can be unduly bulky, may posses only a limited useful life, and may be dangerous in situations in which the integrity of the battery is compromised such as in an automobile accident. It is therefore believed that a mechanical means for storing excess energy would be greatly advantageous over prior chemical systems.
One type of mechanical energy storage apparatus is disclosed by Gray in U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,020. Essentially, this apparatus utilizes a flywheel having a plurality of flywheel magnets located about its periphery which interact with magnets placed around the circumference of the flywheel to enhance the rotary motion of the flywheel. While such an apparatus is able to store kinetic energy in the rotation of the flywheel, this device requires that the flywheel remain in motion during periods of energy storage which itself wastes energy and can be inconvenient or impractical for many applications.
An important aspect of this invention therefore lies in providing a mechanical energy storage apparatus that is highly effective and efficient and that is capable of storing energy without requiring continuous movement of parts during energy storage periods. Briefly, the present invention achieves such objectives by providing an energy storage apparatus which includes first and second permanent magnets which are fixed a distance apart along a common longitudinal axis. A third permanent magnet is movably positioned along the axis between the first and second magnets and a guide means maintains the third magnet in such a position. All three magnets have their magnetic fields aligned along the axis with the third magnet having a like pole facing one of the fixed magnets and an opposite pole facing the other fixed magnet. The guide means allows the third magnet to move between a charged position in which its like pole is proximal to the like pole of the one fixed magnet and an uncharged position in which the opposite pole is proximal the other fixed magnet. In the charged position, the like poles of the third magnet and the one fixed magnet create a powerful repelling force which urges the third magnet towards the other fixed magnet. In addition, the other fixed magnet which has an opposite pole facing the third magnet creates an attractive force which draws the third magnet towards the uncharged position. The fixed magnets and the longitudinal axis may additionally be orientated in a vertical direction with the charged position at the top of the guide pole so that gravity forces act to compliment the repelling and attracting forces which urge the moveable magnet from the charged position to the uncharged position at the bottom. A locking means is provided for securing the third magnet in the charged position and allowing selective release of that magnet when it is desired to harness the kinetic energy stored in the third magnet when it is in the charged position.
A power transmission means is provided which serves the dual functions of receiving energy from an input source to move the third magnet to the charged position and harnessing the kinetic energy from the third magnet when it is released from the charged position and moves towards the uncharged position. In one embodiment, the power transmission means may take the form of a mechanical lever secured to the third moveable magnet and manual or other power can be used to physically move the third magnet to the charged position. When the magnet is then released by the locking means, the lever attached to the moveable magnet may be used in a variety of applications such as driving nails or pins, firing a toy cap gun, or similar operations.
In another embodiment, the power transmission means may take the form of a transmission box having a rotary input and a rotary output. The input may be connected to any type of power source such as a windmill, excess rotary motion in a vehicle or power plant, a motor run by solar energy, etc. The output of the transmission box, which is powered by the moveable magnet, may then be connected to a generator or motor for producing electrical or mechanical energy for a variety of mechanical devices such as portable screwdrivers, children's toys, electric cars, mechanical cars, etc. The transmission box includes a drive means for transmitting energy to and from the moving third magnet. In one embodiment, the drive means may include a rack gear permanently fixed to the moveable magnet and a drive shaft having a pinion gear at one end which engages the rack gear and a power gear at the other end which engages a power shaft which drives the transmission box. The gear ratio selected for the transmission box will depend upon the particular application for which the energy storage apparatus is to be used, however, it is believed that in most applications the gear ratio of the transmission box should be capable of stepping down a high RPM input to a high torque output to move the third moveable magnet and stepping up the high torque output from the third moveable magnet, when it moves from the charged to uncharged position, to a high RPM output.
Where it is desirable to store high power energy, a plurality of power-enhancing magnets may be positioned on the longitudinal axis between the moveable third magnet and the one fixed magnet. Such power-enhancing magnets are positioned with their magnetic fields aligned along the axis and with their north and south poles facing the like poles of adjacent magnets to create constant repelling forces between the magnets. Such a construction requires a high powered torque to charge the system and will produce a high powered or high RPM output when that energy is released. In such a construction, the transmission box should be geared accordingly depending upon the particular application for which the energy storage apparatus of this invention is to be used, such as for high torque or high RPM output, etc.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following disclosure of the drawings.